Mercedes-Benz JuniorCup 2023: The elite of youth football returns to Sindelfingen

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• After a two-year break due to coronavirus, the #mercedesbenz JuniorCup will once again be held at the Glaspalast in #sindelfingen from 7 to 8 January 2023
• Four German Bundesliga teams will meet four top international teams
• Cacau becomes new patron of the tournament
• The traditional U19 indoor football tournament will be expanded to include the SK Gaming eJuniorCup - powered by Mercedes-EQ

On 7 and 8 January 2023, the elite of youth football will meet for the 31^st time at the Mercedes‑Benz JuniorCup in the Glaspalast in #sindelfingen. After a two-year break due to coronavirus, international young footballers will once again be strongly represented at the top-class tournament next year. In addition to the record winner, VfB Stuttgart, the participating teams in 2023 also include Benfica Lissabon (participating for the first time), Manchester United, Galatasaray Istanbul, RB Leipzig, 1. FC Köln, FC Augsburg (participating for the first time) and the reigning title holders, Rapid Wien. The group draw took place in the #mercedesbenz Arena in Stuttgart and was accompanied by Nico Willig, U19 coach at VfB Stuttgart. This resulted in the following constellation:     

Group A: Manchester United, VfB Stuttgart, Galatasaray Istanbul, RB Leipzig

Group B: Rapid Wien, 1. FC Köln, Benfica Lissabon, FC Augsburg

“With the #mercedesbenz JuniorCup, we have a top-class youth tournament that is always an absolute highlight for our young talent and offers them a great opportunity to present themselves. Especially the exchange with international top teams is important for their further development. The quality of the tournament speaks for itself – at the current World Cup, 13 players are playing who have already been on the pitch in #sindelfingen.”
Cacau, brand ambassador of VfB Stuttgart and new patron of the JuniorCup 2023

For three decades now, the #mercedesbenz JuniorCup has been a flagship of top-class youth football, where some future national players also made it big at an early age. More than 120 players from 37 countries went on to play for their respective national teams after taking part in the JuniorCup. 29 former participants of the #mercedesbenz JuniorCup made it into the German national team. Among them are Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, Benedikt Höwedes and Christoph Kramer, who together won the World Cup with Germany in Brazil in 2014. But also current national players such as Joshua Kimmich, Thilo Kehrer and Leroy Sané also took part in the #mercedesbenz JuniorCup in their youth.

In parallel to the JuniorCup, the apprentice tournament of the German #mercedesbenz plants will also take place in the Glaspalast. A total of eight teams will compete for the tournament victory over the two days. These include teams from the #sindelfingen, Bremen, Untertürkheim, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Rastatt and Berlin / Ludwigsfelde plants as well as the so-called Team Zentrale.

In addition to the tournament of the U19 professional teams and that of the trainees, there will also be a premiere next year: after the SK Gaming eJuniorCup - powered by Mercedes-EQ celebrated its kick-off last year as a stand-alone tournament, the final of the eFootball #competition will now become an official part of the overall JuniorCup format. In addition to the #mercedesbenz trainees and dual students, the field of participants will be completed by well-known female players, influencers and the winners of the qualifying tournaments. What is not possible in traditional football is feasible in the SK Gaming eJuniorCup 2023 - powered by Mercedes-EQ: influencers, female players, trainees and the eFootball community will come together to play eye-to-eye against each other for the tournament victory.

The #mercedesbenzjuniorcup2023 will be broadcast live on TV by Sport1. The channel will show the games of the U19 professional teams on both days of the tournament. Ticket sales have already started; tickets are available at mercedes-benz-juniorcup.de.